When Dwarfs attack *screams*

[Vermontcat]

Your hamsters are all so cute!
I am actually considering getting a dwarf hamster soon so maybe you can answer some questions for me.
Can you post some pictures of their cages?
Do you house them as pairs or one hamster to a cage like the syrian hamsters?
Do you find that females or males are nicer?
Do they tend to bite less than the larger hamsters?
Are they only active at night or during the daytime also?

I have had gerbils in the past and have just loved them.
I will go post some links in your gerbil thread for you.

[Roxyluvsme13]

lol, they're cute .

[Christmas_Hamster]

I am actually considering getting a dwarf hamster soon so maybe you can answer some questions for me.

Of course

Can you post some pictures of their cages?

Yes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Trixiecage.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...rixiecage2.jpg
Thats my 30 gallon with Trixie and krista^

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...chasCage-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...hasCage2-1.jpg
Thats what my old hamster Mocha used to live in (30 gallon)^

http://www.freewebs.com/starsofhw/Romeo%20cage.JPG
My hamster Romeo lives in a 30 gallon bin (lenght of a 20 gallon long tank)^

Do you house them as pairs or one hamster to a cage like the syrian hamsters?

They can be in pairs read this for information on keeping two together:

Hints and Suggestions to Housing Multiple Hamsters

So lots of people are wanting to keep multiple hamsters. So here is a guide to help you.

First off Syrians must not be kept together as they are very solitary and will badly fight or even kill each other. This could lead to very expensive vet bills.

Dwarf hamster on the other hand may live together. There are Four Breeds of Dwarfs. There are Russian Campbell Dwarfs, Winter White Dwarfs, Chinese Dwarfs, and Roborovskii Dwarfs.

Some tips for keeping multiple hamsters are:

Make sure you have a large setup for your new hamsters. If you don't have a large enough setup then your dwarfs could fight for space.

A large food dish. Most dwarfs love to be able to sit in their food dish. But if you have a food dish that can't hold a bunch of dwarfs then you could be asking for a fight. Food dish's that would allow all of the hamsters to sit in at the same time are best.

Sometimes one or more of the dwarfs will be greedy. So the other(s) might not get enough food and then get angry. So if you find your dwarfs are not getting the right amount of food the answer is not another food dish. Why? Because now Piggy gets twice as much food. I would suggest seperate feeding times. Feed one and then take the other out. Then switch turns. But usually having a large food dish can help this.

Wheels. Never get the wheels that are actually made for dwarfs. Some are to small in the first place and well all the dwarfs can't fit on it at once. A syrian sized wheel or bigger is your best bet. Or having more then one wheel.

Water Bottles. Sometimes dwarfs will fight over getting a drink. So then you need to get another water bottle.

Multiple beds. Dwarfs may not want to sleep together all the time. So it is important that you have more then one bed for them in their cage incase one is chased out of its bed.

Gender. It is important that you have dwarfs of the same sex. Breeding is alot of hard work and takes a long time to learn. So make sure you either have all girls or all boys.

If fighting occurs and there is blood you must seperate them immeaditly. This means you must have extra cages ready incase of a fight.

And to have two you need at least a 30 gallon tank for example.

Do you find that females or males are nicer?

I find they are both great once tamed

Do they tend to bite less than the larger hamsters?

Actually they are known to bite more often the syrian hamster. But once tamed thay are great buddies!

Try this taming guide:
http://www.hamsterhideout.com/forum/...showtopic=5988

Are they only active at night or during the daytime also?

Unlike gerbils who are awake during the day hamsters are nocturnal but dwarfs tend to come out in the day for a bit. espeacially when they are hungry.

Also to add read this:

Dwarf Diet

CAN NOT Have

Corn of any kind
Peas
Carrots
Fruits
Any store bought treats
Molasses
Sugar

And if any of these ingrediants are in treats/foods then they are unsafe aswell.

CAN have

Anything a Syrian can have other then what is listed above.

If any of the foods dwarfs cannot have are in your food mix then you must pick them out. This is because dwarf hamsters, every breed of dwarf hamsters, are prone to diabetes. These foods contain sugars that are not good for a dwarf. Dwarfs can get diabtetes from Type1 which is hereditary (carried from the parents) and Type2 diabetes which is caused from eating to many sweet foods.

Some good websites are http://www.hamsterhideout.com/ and http://www.freewebs.com/hamster_wheel/index.htm

Hamster Hideout(HH) has a great forum with tonnes of informtive info. I am known as Christmas_hamster on there.

Oh one last thing for one dwarf hamster you need a 20 gallon long and for any other dwarf after that you should add 10 gallon. So if you had to hamster that would be a 30 gallon, Etc. I find tanks easier to use then other cages

[Vermontcat]

Christmas Hamster, thanks for the reply.
I actually got a female Russian Campbell's Dwarf Hamster about a month ago.
Her photo is in my signature, her name is Munchkin.
I also did an intro thread with a few photos of her when I got her but you must have missed it.
I will add a few new photos to that thread and bump it up again so you can see her.
I have already bookmarked those two hamster sites, they have been very helpful in answering any questions I had about the dwarf hamsters.

[Christmas_Hamster]

I noticed but I figured I should still post